This invention relates to a terminal-bushing assembly that is mountable in the housing wall of an electrical component, and more particularly relates to a metal terminal strip with barbed edges that are ultrasonically embedded in opposite walls of a plastic bushing hole.
A favorite method used for many years for making a low cost terminal-bushing includes the assembly of two plastic washers over the inside and outside facets of a hole in a component-housing wall, there being two smaller diameter holes in the two washers, respectively, that are mutually aligned. A metal terminal strip is placed on the outer washer, the metal strip also having a small hole aligned with the washer holes. A rivet is then threaded through the strip and washer holes and is then crimped to form a rigid terminal-bushing-housing assembly. However, the handling, alignment, holding and crimping operations are not readily automatable and a large amount of operator attention is typically employed.
It is also known to make metal terminal strips with springy fingers cut and raised from the major-strip surfaces. These fingers serve as spring loaded barbs that may be pushed into a hole in a plastic member and would resist retraction due to the barbs pressing the walls of the hole. Another method for holding and sealing terminal strips in a plastic header includes threading a component-ribbon lead through a hole in the plastic header from the inside to the outside, pushing a terminal strip part-way into the same hole along side the ribbon lead and applying ultrasonic energy between the terminal strip and the header to seal the ribbon-lead and terminal strip in the header. Such a method is described by Marmorek in his patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,095 issued July 13, 1973 and assigned to the same assignee as is the present invention. The header-terminal of Marmorek is intended for use in a wet electrolytic capacitor package that must be hermetically sealed. However the threading of a ribbon lead represents an assembly operator problem that is inappropriately costly for a terminal header assembly for which there is no sealing requirement.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a low cost terminal-bushing assembly that is easily automatable and employs only two parts, a terminal strip and a bushing.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a terminal-bushing assembly that includes a mounting means for mounting in a component housing.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a terminal-bushing assembly that when mounted provides a high resistance to forces between the terminal and housing of pulling as well as of twisting.